Religious Studies 260
Buddhist Thought & Practice
Spring 2006
Essay 2

Indra's Net (from the Avatamsaka [Hua-yen] Sutra):

Far away in the heavenly abode of the great god Indra, there is a wonderful net which has been hung by some cunning artificer in such a manner that it stretches out indefinitely in all directions.  In accordance with the extravagant tastes of deities, the artificer has hung a single glittering jewel in each "eye" [intersection] of the net, and since the net itself is infinite in dimension, the jewels are infinite in number. There hang the jewels, glittering like stars of the first magnitude, a wonderful sight to behold. If we now arbitrarily select one of these jewels for inspection and look closely at it, we will discover that in its polished surface there are reflected all the other jewels in the net, infinite in number. Not only that, but each of the jewels reflected in this one jewel is also reflecting all the other jewels, so that there is an infinite reflecting process occurring. 

Francis Cook, "The Jewel Net of Indra," in J. Baird Callicott and Roger T. Ames, eds., Nature in Asian Traditions of Thought: Essays in Environmental Philosophy (Albany: SUNY Press, 1989), p. 214.

The metaphor of Indra's Net is used in Hua-yen Buddhism to illustrate the doctrine of the interpenetration of all things (shih-shih wu-ai, or "the non-obstruction of phenomenon and phenomenon").  Explain this doctrine in terms of (1) the Hua-yen concept of "principle" (li, i.e. the principle of emptiness), (2) the Heart Sutra, and (3) the T'ien-t'ai doctrine of "true suchness (chen-ju)." How does this doctrine typify the shift in emphasis that we see in Chinese Buddhism as compared with Theravada Buddhism?

• Length: 3-5 pages (double-spaced, 1-inch margins)
• Due: Monday, April 10^th, in class
• Follow the Paper Format Guide!